Midwestern Tooth Fairy payouts drop a full $1

Tooth Fairy giving is down across the nation with average payouts taking a plunge for a second consecutive year, including a significant decrease in the Midwest.

The average amount Midwestern kids receive for a lost tooth from the Tooth Fairy dropped a full dollar over the past two years – and remains the lowest amount in the nation.

The Tooth Fairy is now leaving kids an average of $2.97 in the Midwest according to the latest Original Tooth Fairy Poll, sponsored by Delta Dental. That’s 47 cents lower than a year ago ($3.44) and $1.07 less than two years ago ($4.04).

Midwestern kids receive the lowest cash payouts in the nation from the Tooth Fairy – $1.22 less than the West ($4.19), 94 cents less than the South ($3.91), 78 cents less than the Northeast ($3.75) and 73 cents less than the national average ($3.70).

The Original Tooth Fairy Poll has served as a good indicator of the economy's overall direction, tracking with the movement of Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) for 14 of the past 17 years.

A year ago, a lost tooth was valued nationwide at $4.13 and dropped to $3.70 in this year’s survey, down 10 percent. Over the same time period, the S&P 500 also saw a decline and decreased by 3 percent.

For more information about the Original Tooth Fairy Poll and ways to make your child’s Tooth Fairy experience special, visit OriginalToothFairyPoll.com.

About the Survey: The Original Tooth Fairy Poll was conducted Dec. 31, 2018 to Jan. 13, 2019 among a nationally representative sample of 1,058 parents of children ages 6-12. The margin of error is +/- 3 percent.